Mission Kandahar

This is a perfectly good movie. The comparisons to The Covenant, Guy Ritchie's movie with Jake Gyllenhaal are understandable, and while there are some similarities, it is not a like for like by any means. There are in fact many differences. I won't spell them out for fear of giving spoilers, but if you watch both movies you will get my point. Gerard Butler does seem to be the go to guy for an awful lot of action movies over the last five plus years, but there is a good reason for that. He meets the requirements of a Hollywood hero very well; handsome, likeable, tough and and pretty decent actor for the most part. I enjoyed the movie and would recommend to anyone who likes action/military type movies.

Kandahar is the second action-drama about Afghanistan I've seen in the last month. Guy Ritchie's The Covenant is about the same subject matter. It's different but also very similar. I find it amusing to see the return of very similar movies released in the same year (think Olympus Has Fallen and White House Down). Fortunately, in this case both movies turned out great.

I enjoyed Kandahar and found it entertaining throughout. It has some cool action scenes that seem to emphasize realism. There is an action scene at night which had me complaining at first because I couldn't see much. I wondered why they didn't use some kind of lighting trick. But as I watched, I realized this is how it would look if I was in that situation, something I've never seen.

The action is only a small portion of this movie. But I was still invested because of the story and characters. There were scenes of suspense as well as slower character moments, but I was never bored. It does a good job of balancing many moving parts (different groups, races and motivations).

Watching this movie, I couldn't help but notice how far we've come regarding Islamophobia in action movies. I grew up watching action movies where brown skin = bad guy. And even worse, they were usually portrayed as gross and barbaric. Kandahar does a much better job of illustrating the complexity of the situation, how not everything is black and white, and how there are people within those communities trying to fight against what's wrong.

I think The Covenant does a better job of holding all sides (including our own) accountable, whereas Kandahar shows sympathy without ever asking for accountability. Even the main character does some bad things that are never addressed. I wish they went that extra step to show how detrimental the outside influences can be on these situations.

Nevertheless, I had a good time with this movie and am happy with how fairly and not one-sided things are portrayed.

(1 viewing, early screening Mystery Movie Monday 5/15/2023)

After the explosion i got lost in this movie. Everyone is against each other and all together are chasing the spy and the poor translator. Every force that passed ftom the region in the last 20 years (USA,Talibans,ISIS,Al Quaeda,Pakistan) are put in a mixer with no begging and no end. There are many plotholes and some times is slow paced. It is so tiring that i hardly kept myself of not falling asleep.

There are some good action scenes. Many collateral plots running together made the movie complicated. Nothing to compare to the Convenant. I'd rather compare it to "Plane",Buttler's previous movie.

Really,does Hollywood lacks of military and geostrategical advisors?

The scenario is like it is written by a 10 years old kid.

The duration should be max 90' no more because it is too tiring. It is from the kind of movies that i'd expect from netflix,and i would watch it only once.

Strong plot and promising action but falls short. Worth viewing if you like this type of film or Butler in general.

Butler's 'Tom Harris' and Fimmel's 'Roman' were strong, they provided high points. Bagheri's 'Parshand' didn't hit the mark.

Action scenes had moments of awesome. But odd timing of starts/stops during sequences made them confusing. Particularly when Roman rolls out of the vehicle during a pursuit scene.

Parshand pursuing main characters endlessly through the desert on a low range motorcycle was odd and not believable enough. Character did not seem ruthless. His scenes subtracted from the overall concept I was expecting and hoping for.

This is a good war thriller with lots of action, impressive scenes and strong violence. A gripping and exciting story that keeps you tense throughout the entire film. Thriller with noisy action, shootouts, excessively shaky camera in some places and the special effects are quite brilliant. After sabotaging an Iranian nuclear reactor, Agent Tom Harris: Gerard Butler discovers that his identity has been revealed by a detained journalist, Nina Toussaint-White, and that the CIA's involvement in the destruction of the nuclear reactor has been made public. Gerard Butler plays Tom Harris, and his partner in the film, Oliver, is performed by Tom Harries. Harris has 30 hours to get to the airport in Kandahar, Afghanistan, along with his translator Mohammad 'Mo' Doud: Navid Negahban. To fight the tumultuous escape, he reteams with mercurial and skilled operative Roman Chalmers: Travis Fimmel. The only thing more dangerous than the mission is escape!

This exciting film contains loudy action, full of suspense, tension, crossfire, chases and adrenaline. Financed by the head of the "John Wick" saga, as producer Alan Siegel explains: "Not everything revolves around shooting and chases: the key is humanity", so the most dangerous thing is not the mission, it is the escape... and that is what the character of Gerard Butler, (The Pilot, 300), who is the true protagonist of this intricate and fast-paced action thriller, is very clear about.

Operation Kandahar (2023) contains colorful cinematography by cameraman David Buckley filmed in several locations: Al-'Ula, Saudi Arabia, and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. As well as a moving and intriguing musical score by composer MacGregor. The film was competently directed by Ric Roman Waugh and filmed from December 2, 2021 to January 28, 2022. Roman has a long career as a stuntman and later became a prestigious writer and filmmaker. Waugh is a good director and writer, known for National Champions, Shot Caller (2017), Target: Washington D. C. or Angel Has Fallen (2019), Greenland (2020), In the Shadows and especially for his first big hit, Felon. He has been married to Tanya Ballinger, who often appears in his films. Rating: 6.5/10. It's worth seeing. Better than average. Essential and indispensable viewing for Gerard Butler fans and action thriller enthusiasts.